Antique Pistol ?????

[icedgold10]

Picked this up today at an estate sale.  I'm thinking possibly civil war but not sure.

[frogpatch]

Can you give us the measurements? It does not look like a Civil War Colt from what I have seen but I am nowhere near being an expert. We do have an arms expert who comes here. It was apparently excavated somewhere. It may have been from a battlefield somewhere or someone trying to hide a weapon from a crime. Guns were rarely lost or tossed out for lack of use. I saw a show where a western gun was stashed in a small cave and someone found it. It was in the same condition as that one. It turned out to be from the 1880s. 

[mart]

Didn`t match any of the Colt revolvers from that period that I could find !!  Guess its it too bad a condition to be able to see a name or numbers ??

[icedgold10]

It is 8" long not including the handle.  I guess it is called a barrel?

[mart]

The entire barrel is 8 in.   That's more like a 38 cal. instead of 45 cal. !!

[Rauville]

Hard to tell, but looks like maybe a Iver Johnson or Harrington Richardson top-break double action. There were several versions made from the 1890's onward.
http://www.gunauction.com/search/displayitem.cfm?itemnum=10495709

(Iver Johnson produced their 5 shot top-break "Safety Automatic"* revolver up until 1941.)

* "Safety Automatic" was used only to describe the safety features...it was still a revolver in function.

[icedgold10]

A friend of my son's just stopped by that knows a little about guns.  He opened it and there are bullets in it that say western  38 S&W.  What would a gun like this be used for?

[mart]

That's a 38 cal. made on an old look western frame !!  I thought it was a 38 !! You can also buy a 22 cal. on a 45 frame !! It just gives a pistol an old look but for modern ammo !! Fairly new gun !!

[icedgold10]

What do you mean fairly new?  I don't think it is that new. 

[cogar]

This might be what you have.
 
64. Smith & Wesson “Double Action” ser.# 80817. Antique second model .38 S&W top break revolver made before 1885. 5 shot cylinder has a double set of stop notches.

[icedgold10]

That looks like it.  I just found out you can't list these things on Ebay.  They pulled my listing.  Where do I sell this type item?

[Ipcress]

Rivets near the barrel are in different positions but very similar Cogar !
Actually placed more like 65, although the gun itself is much more like 64

[Rauville]

I bet someone took the hammer and mainspring out of Grandpa's old pistol, filled it with empty shell casings and gave it to the kids to play with. Even during my childhood it was somewhat common to give a "broken gun" a second life in that manner.
That being said; you will probably have to find a "relic collector" to appreciate it enough to buy it. And the value will be low enough it may not be worth the effort to find a internet venue to accomplish that. Try your local gun shop.

[mart]

Does it actually say "Western" 38 S&W " ??

[KC]

So, let me get this straight...you bought it...and someone opened it up and it was loaded??  Wow!!!  That is truly insane (even for us in Texas!)